2022 Pépière Muscadet Cru "Clisson!" Returning Favorites from Muscadet, Chinon and Vouvray & Huet Dinner Jan. 21st
1/11/2025
A new release of 'Clisson' from Domaine de la Pépière is always welcome, even in the middle of a cold-snap in January!
Beginning in 2005, Marc Ollivier at Pépière produced this beautiful cuvée from a small parcel of 50 to 100 year-old vines within the Pépière vineyard. Originally called "Granite de Clisson" after the unique bedrock in the vineyard, Marc changed the name to "Clisson" to agree with the new INAO Cru Communal classification. The granite is covered with gravel and clay with large stones, ensuring good drainage and deep penetration by the roots into the fissures in the bedrock, bringing the mineral elements indispensable to this wine. Not produced in 2021 due to frost, the 2022 spent 2 years on the lees before bottling and offers a ripe, elegant, full-bodied style that will drink beautifully young and will develop further over 15 to 20 years.
Here's an assessment from winemaker and friend Remi Branger:
"Concerning the Clisson 2022, it was an early harvest, the grapes were picked on September 5 and 6. The harvest was beautiful, with perfect ripeness. Often on early vintages we can have high sugar concentrations because the maturity dynamics are faster. On the 2022 vintage we have a concentration that is not very high for an early vintage with a perfect alcohol content of around 12.5% (on warm vintages we sometimes have 13 or 13.5% alcohol).
Concerning the tasting we have slightly grilled, toasted notes on the nose, with aromas of ripe fruits, citrus fruits, honey and quince. The palate is rich (but not hot), a dense and well-structured ripe fruit mixture of white peach and quince. The palate is long and the finish ends with a very small bitter note (a note very typical of the 2022 vintage)."
Our advice: 6 to 12 bottles for current drinking and 6 to 12 bottles to drink when mature 2035 – 2045!
It's been a long month without the lovely Pépière "Pépiè" in the store, but finally the 2023 is back in stock! 2023 is a terrific vintage for this wine which provides elegant everyday drinking with perfect acidity and mineral flavors to pair with your fish and chicken dishes this winter, and over the next few years.
We're sorry to repeat ourselves, but 2023 is also a great vintage for the Pépière "Les Gras Moutons" - this great parcel on gneiss, with sandy clay and amphibolite stones, gives a round and refreshing Muscadet for early drinking and that develops beautifully over 5 to 10 years or more. The 2018 is really singing now as is the 2009 - the 2023 should be considered for your cellar!
But wait, there's more! We have 60 btls left of the 2023 "Briords Vieilles Vignes" - grab some before it's gone (there may not be any 2024 due to frost and mildew).
Recent Releases from Domaine Bernard and Matthieu Baudry, Chinon
It's no secret that we think Domaine Baudry makes some of the finest wines in the Loire Valley, and at prices well below those of the supposed "superstars." So we're particularly happy to have their three most recent releases back in stock and ready to drink - or to cellar! (And yes, there's a little bit of 2023 Rosé left which is getting better and better…)
Vouvray! Our current favorite from Julien Pinon, the 2022 "Les Deronnières," is back in stock along with a few other gems from this superb estate, and we're happy to offer again the beautiful 2023s (and 2009s) from Domaine Huet! (Please see the recent review of the brilliant 2009 Clos du Bourg Sec!)
All wines (except Petillant) discount 10% on a case or mixed case!! Please allow until Wednesday, Jan 15 for pick-up/shipping.
On January 21st, our neighbor Pascaline Lepeltier at Chambers will honor this historic domain with a dinner and tasting attended by owner Sarah Hwang and winemaker Benjamin Joliveau!
[Benjamin Joliveau and Sarah Hwang of Domaine Huet]
Huet Dinner at Chambers, Jan 21st at 7pm with Sarah Hwang and Benjamin Joliveau!
"On Tuesday, January 21st, Chambers Restaurant begins the year with a series of very special dinner/tastings celebrating the wines of Domaine Huet, an icon of the Loire Valley, and of Chenin Blanc. For the first event, we are happy to welcome Sarah Hwang, owner of the domain, and Benjamin Joliveau, the head of viticulture and winemaking since 2020. They will take us through the new releases of the estate from 2023, and talk about their dedication to biodynamic farming, and lead us in a tasting of older vintages going back to 1971, allowing us to appreciate the unique terroirs of the 3 main sites they work with: le Haut-Lieu, le Mont & le Clos du Bourg. We will taste the different styles of Chenin, varying depending on the profile of the year, from aged sparkling to sec, demi-sec and moelleux, including the rare Cuvée Constance. It will be a night not to miss for Chenin lovers, or for any wine lover! (Two more dinners will follow, one dedicated to the Le Mont vineyard, and one focusing on the very early years of the estate, back to 1919.)"
Thirteen wines, four-course dinner by Executive Chef Jon Karis! $305 per person plus tax and tip. Use this link to RESERVE
